


Unexpected

by Rogersruinedmylife



Series: Unexpected [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Esteban and Pierre are strange, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Lando has the emotional balance of a small dog, M/M, Max and Lando are bff goals, Sebastian has a secret, Sebastian is the only one with braincells, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, lance is bad at flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28120212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogersruinedmylife/pseuds/Rogersruinedmylife
Summary: No one had expected it when it was announced that Lance was leaving Racing Point for 2021.OrLance and Lando become teammates in 2021.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Lando Norris/Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly/Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel/ Mystery Husband
Series: Unexpected [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069403
Comments: 16
Kudos: 122





	Unexpected

No one had expected it when it was announced that Lance was leaving Racing Point for 2021.

Lando could remember hearing the news as him and Jon worked on neck training. He was focused on the pressure on his neck, on following the movements as slowly and smoothly as possible to avoid straining his neck as he had done the week before when Jon had let out a little ‘huh’, pulling Lando from his concentration.

He made a curious noise, gritting his teeth at the strain on his neck as he pulled against the weight.

‘RP have just announced Daniel Riccardo is taking the seat next to Seb, they said Stroll has signed elsewhere and will announce it in the coming days’, Jon responded, tucking his phone away before helping ease Lando out of the device, ‘I’m surprised he’s leaving considering his father owns the team and how great the car is this year. It’s a gamble going to another team just as yours is getting everything right’

Lando didn’t contain his little giggle at the comment. Between him and Jon they had a group chat that was just memes about Carlos’s having prematurely signed with Ferrari whose season was going down the drain faster than those protein shakes Jon kept trying to make him drink. They had recently added Carlos to the group, despite his pouting at first, the Spaniard seemed to enjoy the memes as much as they did.

Lando had joked to Jon that it just hadn’t hit him yet that he was going to be driving tractor next year.

‘I suppose he wants to get away from that stupid daddy’s cash tag the media have given him,’ Lando sighed as Jon urged him to the massage table for a cool down, ‘I don’t blame him. He’s a good driver, but he’ll never get the credit with trolls thinking his dad is the only reason he’s here’

Jon chuckled, ignoring Lando’s hissed breath as he dug his knuckle into a knot at the back of Lando’s neck, ‘Suddenly a Lance fan now kid? After that radio last season, I’m surprised you don’t glare at the poor guy in the paddock’

‘Hey!’, Lando pouted, not that Jon could see him, ‘I apologised to Lance. Now I know that taking a leaf out of Max’s book isn’t the best thing. Lance was actually really sweet about it; he even gave me an awkward hug’

Lance had been sweet when Lando had approached him awkwardly, his anxiety skyrocketing. He knew he had been out of line with his radio and media comments in Portugal. Usually, he was good with containing his frustrations but everything about the end of the season had begun to chip away at him, mentally and physically. His control had slipped, and the guilt had been eating at him, but he hadn’t wanted to apologize over text. It seemed insincere, a coward’s way out.

His father had always told him to own up to his mistakes.

Hence him sneaking passed the Racing Point employees after getting Lance’s room number from Esteban when he ran into him at the track during the lead up to Imola.

His heart had been in his throat and his hands clammy with nerves as he stood outside the door, waiting to knock and warring with his anxiety. It had been just when he worked up the courage to knock that the door had swung open, Lando’s fist knocking not on the wood, but instead colliding with Lance’s shoulder as the confused Canadian stares down at him in what Lando thought was amusement.

‘Um, hi…. I didn’t mean to punch you I swear, I actually came here to talk to you, not…assault you’, Lando word vomited at the other drive, aware of the blush rising on his cheeks out of embarrassment as he lowered his hand from Lance’s Racing Point polo covered shoulder.

Lance chuckled, looking down at the smaller driver before shifting aside in invitation, commenting, ‘It’s chill Lando, I barely even felt it’

‘Sorry’, Lando mumbled, taking the invitation.

It was only as he was passing Lance to step into the room that he noticed how much broader the other was, his own frame dwarfed by both the Canadians height and width. Lance had a good five inches on him, but his wide shoulders made it seem as if he towered over the young British driver.

‘Do you want a drink?’ Lance offered, waving his hand awkwardly as they stood by the couch in his room. Both of them were trying not to meet the other’s eyes, fidgeting with fingers and bracelets aware of their own social awkwardness and the fact they had never interacted outside of brief moments on track.

‘No, I’m okay, thank you’, Lando cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders as he glanced up at the other, taking in the soft hesitant smile on Lance’s face. Everything about Lance’s posture was open and welcoming, patiently waiting for Lando to feel comfortable to speak and that made Lando’s chest clench at the thoughtfulness of the other as he tried to find the words.

‘I actually wanted to apologise, ‘he admitted, taking in the slight shock on Lance’s face. It made him wonder if any driver had ever apologised for moves, they had made on the Canadian or for their trash talk over the team radios during racing incidents.

‘Oh man, no you really don’t have to’, Lance chuckled softly, running a hand through his hair with the nerves. Part of him couldn’t comprehend that the British driver had specifically sought him out to apologise. Lance had brushed off his comments. Although he didn’t know the Brit personally, he knew it was unusual for him to be petty outside of the radio during the race and had dismissed the comment to the press easily, focusing on how to recover from the last race.

‘I really do’, Lando smiled shyly, glancing at up at the other from under his eyelashes, ‘What I said was petty, and stupid. I shouldn’t have carried that part of the race off track. You’re a great driver who got a shit hand last weekend, I shouldn’t have made it worse’

Lance swallowed the lump in his throat, looking down at the praise. It had been a long, hard few weeks where nothing had seemed to go right for him between getting a sever case of food poisoning that had left him shaky for a few days once the worst had subsided and the car failing him or getting shunted. The comments, the jokes, the whispers that had followed him to Portugal had only heightened his own anxiety to perform, only to fail and the onslaught to begin again.

‘Thank you Lando, I really appreciate it’, Lance replied gently.

Neither knew what to do as Lando nodded, beaming at the Canadian. Despite the relief between them, neither of them knew how to proceed before Lance spoke up, holding his arms out slightly.

‘Hug it out and call it a day?’, Lance teased, expecting the other driver to roll his eyes and laugh.

Instead Lando surprised them both, giving Lance a cheeky smile before stepping forward, throwing his arms around Lances neck and tugging the taller into an awkward hug.

Lance had faltered for a moment. He hadn’t expected Lando to want a hug, knowing from Esteban that the younger man was slightly awkward about being touched outside of his team and friends. Yet Lando folded into him easily, his curls tickling Lances chin as he patted the younger on the back.

They pulled back after a few moments, a flush high on both their faces as they chuckled awkwardly before Lando glanced up at him.

‘Just because we hugged doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you on track’, Lando teased, poking at Lance’s shoulder before heading towards the door.

Lando remembered the sound of Lance’s laughter as he reflected upon the memory as Jon began beating the hell out of his calf muscles, making him wince.

‘I wonder what team he will go to’, Lando pondered, closing his eyes, and letting Jon work.

‘I don’t know but we’re finding out who’s going to have to put you with you being a gremlin in 2021 tomorrow so try not to stay up late on Twitch, yeah?’, Jon scolded teasingly as he dumped a towel on Lando’s head despite the youngers grumbling.

Jon’s advice went ignored.

The arrival of winter break had brought some free time for Lando, allowing him to get back into a rhythm of doing things he enjoyed, such as streaming till 4am with Charles, George and Alex while playing Goat simulator and other weird games Charles had found on the internet. The funniest had been some paranormal investigation game that had George and Charles screaming while he and Alex died of laughter, having to mute their mics at times because the chat complained about the noise levels.

Now, at 8am and making the drive from his home to the factory, Lando regretted the choices he had made the night before.

He felt grumpy as he pulled in the McLaren factory. His muscles still ached from the work out the day before and his eyes had that itchy tired feeling to them as tried not to rub them. He knew he couldn’t complain to Jon. His trainer would have no sympathy and Lando would find himself getting another hour-long lecture on the benefits of a healthy sleep schedule for his body, mind, and general wellbeing.

Jon had still given him a knowing look as he met him at the top of the stairs leading to the large meeting room, a knowing look in his eyes and a coffee that was sweetened beyond what his diet allowed in the other.

‘You’re the best mate’, Lando sighed as he took the coffee, even the warmth of the takeaway cup bringing a little more life to his tired frame.

‘You’d die without me, I honestly don’t know how you made it to twenty-one’, Jon sighed, throwing an arm around Lando’s shoulders, and tugging him towards the meeting room, ‘Make it through this and you can take a nap for an hour or two before your sim work later’

Lando gave Jon a thumb up, too focused on inhaling his coffee, wondering if there was a way to inject it straight into his blood stream to make this meeting bearable. Helen and Charlotte shook their heads at him as Jon lead him like a puppy into the seat marked for him, shoving him into it and settling beside the zombie that was masquerading as the team’s driver.

More people began to fill the room, chatter surrounding him as he tugged Jon’s jacket over his body, closing his eyes for a small cat nap.

He could feel Jon’s hand, warm on his shoulder and couldn’t help leaning towards the older man in his chair. Lando often thought of himself a little like a cat. He could be snarky and annoying but really, he craved warmth and affection, loving when Jon or others he trusts casually did things like this that they knew he found comforting.

All too soon Jon was pinching his arm, startling him from his daydreaming cat nap as Zak made his way to the little stage and lectern, smiling at everyone as he went before, he started talking.

It was a struggle to keep his eyes open as Zak droned on, talking, and joking about the amazing season they had had. His chest panged a little with the mention of their farewell with Carlos, already missing his older friend. If he were here Lando would at least have someone to joke with and make a tally about how often Zak would use the words ‘dude’ and ‘awesome’ until Charlotte glared at them for being disruptive in meetings.

Instead, he had Jon who was taking too much enjoyment out of poking and prodding him every time his head drooped, or his eyes closed for more than a minute.

Lando sent his trainer a glare as Zak’s words drew his attention back to the meeting before them as Zak gestured towards the door.

‘I’d like us to give a great big welcome to our newest family member, I know you’ve been dying to meet him’, Zak smiled, gesturing wildly at whoever was outside the door before continuing as it opened, ‘Lance, come on in buddy, don’t be shy dude, we don’t bite’

Lando felt himself sitting straighter, watching as Lance entered the room shyly. The older had a soft smile on his face, one had playing with the bracelets around his wrist anxiously and cheeks flushed a little from the attention as the room erupted into applause. The taller driver seemed to shy away from all the eyes being on him while trying to offer a calm and genuine smile.

Lando could feel his own anxiety rising under his skin in reaction to Lance’s nervous little ticks as he made his way to shake Zak’s hand and face the room. He watched as Zak pulled Lance into a hug, noting the way Lance stiffened a little before patting Zak’s back awkwardly. The interaction made Lando shift in his seat, remembering his own nerve wrecking introduction to the team and how stressed it had made him feel.

‘Hey, stop’, a hand wrapped around his wrist gently as Jon tugged his fingers from his mouth where he hadn’t even realised, he had begun to chew at his nails, ‘Are you okay?’

Lando nodded slightly, covering his hands with his hoodie sleeves, leg jostling a little as he whispered back, ‘Tired, anxiety has decided to make a quick appearance’.

Jon nodded, face softening as he moved a hand to squeeze Lando’s shoulder quickly, ‘Thirty minutes and I’ll make excuses for us to head away from the crowds, it looks like Zak is done torturing Stroll’

Despite he anxiety beginning to gnaw at his insides, Lando was a little excited. From the little he had interacted with Lance after the apology, he seemed like a chill guy. Awkward and introverted, much like Lando himself except quitter, but he was looking forward to working with him. Maybe they could fully move passed the ‘rivalry’ Twitter and the media had written them into and become friendly before the season started.

Lando glanced back up, still feeling a little on edge as people began to move from their seats. Some brushed passed him, making him flinch as they came too close to comfort. The only one that was bearable was Helen. A soft smile on her face as she handed him a cool bottle of water before heading away to find Charlotte.

‘Lando! Come greet your new teammate kid!’, Zak called happily, waving him over from where he was standing with Lance, a crowd of people greeting the Canadian who’s cheeks were flushed a little and his smile shy as he scratched at his beard between fist bumps.

Lando took a deep breath, pushing down the little voice that reacted negatively to being called a kid. Over the last season it had begun to irritate him, that little voice that read every comment, every article back to him mockingly. Never the good ones, only the ones pointing out how he was ‘too young’, ‘too childish’, ‘a kiddie among the big boys’ and ‘not serious enough to be driving at his age’. The words had had a huge impact on his mental health at the beginning of the season, his streaming had become the focus of many attacks on how he was too childish or young to be in the seat he was in. That he should give it to someone more mature and serious, not giddy, and child-like.

Jon placed a hand on his back, a reassuring presence as he had always been. Even if this meeting now made Lando want to crawl out of his skin between his self-inflicted tiredness and swelling anxiety, Jon would be there and know when to bail him out to let him come down in peace.

‘Congrats on the making the right choice,’ Lando teased as he reached where Lance was standing, offering the other man a shaky fist to bump as he tried to keep his calm about him.

Lance offered a genuine smile, happy to see the younger man that had been on his mind since his apology and surprisingly warm hug all those months ago,

‘Yeah man, I’m really looking forward to us working together’, Lance laughed softly, pulling his fist back to anxiously rub at the stubble he called a beard, ‘A change from the pink, but I think I’ll pull off the orange nicely’

Lando laughed at the joke, tiredness and anxiety mixing to make his brain susceptible to the awkward and stilted joke that Lance made, watching how the others brown eyes lit up at the fact his dry humour had worked on his new teammate.

‘I think you and the kid will get along just fine’, Zak joked happily, interrupting his and Lances staring contest, bringing the little voice in Lando’s brain a little closer to the surface.

Lando wanted to joke back at his boss, toe the line between snappy and funny that he had gotten good at. Zak always laughed when Lando got a little witty and cheeky with his joke, it would be safe to make a joke about his boss’s own age in retaliation but unfortunately for Lando at that moment, his tiredness washed over him, his jaw aching with the need to yawn.

He managed to cover his mouth, shooting his boss and Lance an apologetic laugh before yawning, making little noise as he did and blinking sleepily.

It was at that moment that it began. The little competition between him and Lance, born out of their awkwardness and Lando’s tired brain being unable to comprehend Lance’s attempt at joking with his new boss to fit in.

‘I think the kid stayed up passed his bedtime last night’, Lance chuckled, throwing Zak a quick glance as the other laughed.

Lando forced a fake media smile on his face, registering the moment Lance picked up on his silence and reaction as the other frowned, hand going back to play with the bracelets around his wrist nervously.

The silence dragged on.

‘Oh, there look at the time, Lando we got to get that workout in for your back before it becomes too tight again,’ Jon jumped in, hand firm and grounding on Lando’s shoulder, ‘You don’t mind do you Zak? You know we got to keep an eye on his back since it acted up this season’

Zak waved them off cheerfully, turning his attention back to Lance who was shifting uncomfortably. Almost as if he had known he had said the wrong thing to Lando just then and wanted to apologise, yet he didn’t know how.

Lando ignored the petty anger mixing with the anxiety as Jon swiftly led him away from the meeting and to his rooms.

He had hoped to start the season on the right foot with Lance. As equals with them being so close in age and personality traits, yet he was the same as many of the others. Lando was just a funny kid to him, not a serious teammate.

Lando gritted his teeth against the replay of the words and the little smirk on Lance’s face as he lay on the makeshift bed in his room, closing his eyes.

On or off track, he swore he would show them.

*

Lance had known the moment the words had escaped his mouth, brain short circuiting between his anxiety and the sudden urge to pull Lando into a hug, that he had put his foot in his mouth once more.

His attention had been on how adorable the other driver had looked standing in front of him in his rumpled team hoody, his curls loose and soft and his tired green eyes glancing up at him from under long lashes. Lando’s hands, even when he offered his fist for a fist bump, were covered by the long sleeves of the hoody. Everything about Lando’s demeanour and dress had made his smaller build stand out and Lance had felt the urge to pull the slightly younger boy into a hug much like they had back in that hotel room.

Instead, he had said something stupid in an awkward attempt to make his new boss and teammate laugh, the friendly air between them had shifted.

On the surface they were friendly. Lando was never cold to Lance, making jokes with him and greeting him every day at the factory or on track with a smile, yet there was an awkwardness between them.

Lance had noticed that neither of them had the ability to filter their thoughts, resulting in more than one foot in mouth incidence.

Although he had to admit that it was mainly him. In his attempts to settle the weird air between them, Lance seemed to just make it worse, angering the smaller driver despite Lando’s attempts to hide his reactions from the other driver.

The first had been during the first race of the season.

Lance had been walking through the garage, trying to familiarize himself with the layout of everything before it got swarmed by the mechanics and other staff.

It was as he was going over where everything was to be placed that he heard cursing from the other side of the garage from a familiar voice.

Lando had been standing on a toolbox trying to grab his gloves and helmet that had been placed on top of the tallest of the stack shelves that were to be used to house various bits of machinery. A note was pinned to the stack, obviously having been written by Lando’s team in a tasing welcome back that seemed typical of McLaren from what Lance had seen and heard during his few months on the team.

Without even thinking Lance made his way over to the other, ignoring the surprised look Lando threw him as he wobbled and stood on his tiptoes, knocking the helmet and gloves into his other hand before offering them to Lando with a smile.

The other driver just stared at him, a strange look on his face as he took the helmet and gloves from Lance’s hands.

‘I think we need to keep a step ladder round here man, those shelves are pretty high’, Lance laughed, scratching at his cheek nervously as he tried to break the silence in the garage.

Lando’s cheeks had flushed, whether it be from the joke or balancing on the unstable toolbox Lance wasn’t sure, but his green eyes narrowed as Lance too in the way the light played off the different hues, pulled in by the unique colour.

‘I could have gotten it myself thanks,’, Lando bit out, puffing his chest slightly, almost defensively.

Lance couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face at the display. He could tell the other driver was annoyed with the prank, but he looked cute in his team gear, curls escaping from under the cap and his eyes burning with annoyance. It was hard for Lance not to smile when the way Lando was projecting made the lines of his muscles stand out under the tight shirt.

‘Yeah of course man, just like putting these extra few inches to good use’, Lance chuckled, patting Lando’s shoulder as the younger stiffened slightly, ‘Anyway careful on that box man, it looks unstable’

Lando had thrown an almost angry ‘I’m fine’, at Lance before storming off, leaving Lance to stare after him and try not to notice how all those squats had been doing wonders for the others ass in those tight jeans.

That had been the first instance where Lando had visibly gotten annoyed at Lance’s awkward and witty humour, not having picked up on Lance’s joking and getting defensive. While it bothered Lance, it was also amusing to watch how the younger got flustered with him during this incidence, never sure if he was angry or wanted to laugh at Lance’s bad jokes.

Another time Lando had tried to be snarky with Lance after a shitty race for both of them, snapping jokingly at the Canadian driver about how they had both gotten taken out during the race but at least Lando had gotten more than ten laps in for the team.

After being on friendly, if competitive terms with Max for years now, Lance was used to this type of banter that Lando had clearly picked up from the Dutchman.

His reply, which had been said through a small smirk and him ruffling Lando’s curls as he passed him by, had left the young staring in barely hidden anger, while his cheeks and face flushed as if Lance had caught onto something he shouldn’t have.

He had simply replied, ‘You didn’t have to throw your race just because you missed me Lando, just text me next time’, before winking awkwardly and rushing away from the shocked driver as his own face flushed with a pink blush and Rob gave him a knowing look as he retreated to the safety of his driver room.

The little voice in his brain was screaming what the fuck at what he had said, yet all he could think about was how angry Lando’s jawline stood out more and his lips puffed when he was biting them from frustration and the realisation that maybe, just maybe he wanted to kiss that slightly frustrated look off the younger drivers face.

Things started to come to a head midseason after they had had a particularly good race.

Lance had successfully completed an overtake on Lando when the younger was struggling on worn tyres, getting passed the British driver despite the small space on the track. They had both finished high in the points, the Mercedes engines boosting the already powerful car and giving them a fighting chance.

Lando had been standing outside the garage, running hand through sweaty curls and cheeks flushed with the adrenaline of a good race when Lance had arrived back, helmet tucked under arm and stopping in place at the sight of the other.

The air between them was awkward as Lando took a sip of water, eyes narrowing as he gave Lance a once over slowly. Eyes fixing on Lance’s own sweaty hair that he had swept back after the race before stepping forward to offer him a high five.

Lance gave Lando half smirk, riding the high of the race and enjoying the closeness of the younger after weeks of dancing around each other.

‘That overtake was beautiful, fair play mate. I can’t even be mad you took the points from me’, Lando offered, smiling slightly as their hands fell away from the high five.

Lance laughed, bumping the younger’s shoulder with his fist before reaching for his own water bottle as Rob appeared at his side, taking his helmet.

‘Maybe I do learn somethings, eh?’, Lance joked, sending Lando a smirk as he ran a hand threw his hair to detangle some of the knots while taking a sip from his water bottle.

The mood shifted dangerously as Lando stepped back from him, eyes narrowing as he stared down Lance who calmly sipped at his water, knowing exactly what words he had used and the effect it was having on the other man.

Lando was cute when he was frustrated, but when he was mad, truly mad and annoyed, he was strikingly hot. His clenched fists let Lance see each curve of muscle in his arms as the other had his racing suit tied off at the waist and Nomex sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His face lost the boyish charm that Lance found adorable, and instead his sharp features stood out as the younger clenched his jaw. Those green eyes burned with an intensity that made Lance shiver.

For a second, while they stood staring at each other, Lance was sure one of two things was going to happen; Lando was going to kiss him, judging by the way the younger drivers eyes had fixated on Lance’s lips, or he was going to punch him.

Lance was saved by Jon appearing, tossing an arm around Lando’s shoulder with a bright smile and congratulations thrown at Lance before leading Lando away to stretch out the muscles that were probably already beginning to ache.

The younger turned his head at one point, throwing Lance another look before disappearing into his motorhome.

Lance had the feeling that things had shifted between them, yet he didn’t know how to tip it over the edge.

He needed to talk to Esteban.

*

Lando was fuming, pacing the floor in front of Max who was sat on his bed, an eyebrow raised as he watched Lando mutter angrily to himself.

‘Are you going to tell me why you are acting like an angry chihuahua or am I just meant to sit here until you make a hole in the floor?’, Max laughed as Lando stop to throw a glare at him.

Ignoring the look his best friend was giving him, Lando groaned, flopping face down onto the bed beside Max and mumbling into the covers, cursing Lance’s name as he did so.

‘Hey’, Max scolded, digging his toes into Lando’s side, making the younger squirm, ‘I don’t speak gremlin’

Lando turned his head, glaring at Max and lifting a hand to bat away his friends socked feet that were poking at his ribs before flopping onto his back and directing his grumpy glare at the ceiling.

‘Okay grumpy cat, what’s wrong? Either tell me or I get Alex and you know he will stare at you until you feel you have done something wrong and confess all your sins to him’, Max threatened, knowing no one them could resist the ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ look Alex gave them to make them talk to him.

‘He’s just so fucking smug and annoying, Max’, Lando groaned, running a hand through his hair, ‘Just who does he think he is speaking to me like that?’.

‘Uh mate, who the hell are we talking about?’, Max confusedly question, watching as Lando glared daggers at the ceiling before he continued his tirade as if Max had never spoken.

‘Just because he did well today and he’s fucking tall and got that amazing hair that looks good even out of a helmet while I look like a binned muppet next to his broad shoulders does not mean he can say what he did!’, Lando hissed, throwing a look at Max, ‘It’s just so frustrating Max! He makes me so angry when he opens his mouth and looks at me with those big brown eyes and smiles at me, its infuriating. He just thinks he’s so cute, the bastard’

Max bit his lip, trying hard to contain his laughter at the outburst, picturing a certain Canadian that happened to have great hair and brown eyes and looked at Lando recently as if the smaller driver held the answer to the universe in his hands.

‘Mate, I think you’re only problem with Lance is that you want to fuck him’, Max burst into laughter at the shocked and offended look on Lando’s face as the other sat up.

Lando moved quick, grabbing a pillow from behind him and walloped Max who had dissolved into loud, boisterous laughter as Lando tried to smother him.

‘Hey, keep your kinks for Stroll, he might be into smothering’, Max chuckled, wrestling the smaller man off him as Lando glared at him.

‘I do not want to sleep with Lance’, Lando denied, despite the fact that he could feel his own face heating up with the truth in Max’s words, ‘He is frustrating and annoying. He purposefully does things to piss me off and then stands there looking all broad and cheeky and fucking hot-’.

Lando stilled as his own words rang in his ears. He had called Lance hot. Earlier he had complained about his hair and face and how cute he was. He hadn’t even realised the words he was saying until Max had just pointed it out. It wasn’t just that Lance frustrated him and got under his skin, he actually liked Lance and wanted to kiss that smug little smirk off his face whenever he made his stupid jokes.

‘Oh god, I want to sleep with my teammate’, Lando gaped, sinking back down onto the bed, and staring in shock at Max who was rolling his eyes.

‘Mate, anyone with eyes could see you wanted to sleep with Lance. I’m pretty sure Michael told Dan that Jon and Rob have a bet with your mechanics on when you two will stop edging around each other and just get on with it’, Max stated, pulling out his phone to show Lando a text from Dan asking if Lando realised he was staring at Lance’s ass during the national anthem at the race earlier that day.

Embarrassment flooded through him, making Lando shrink back from his friend, pulling the hood of his hoody up to cover his burning face and the anxiety that was rising in him from the joking text. He hadn’t even realised he had felt that way about Lance, too caught up in being annoyed by the jokes and comments, yet everyone else could see it and make fun of it.

‘Hey, don’t hide from me, there’s nothing wrong with liking your teammate’, Max soothed, scooting closer to spoon Lando close, offering comfort.

‘I know, but everyone knows, or suspects and I didn’t realise. They give me a hard enough time with the jokes about my age, I don’t want this being another fucking kiddie joke’, Lando muttered, closing his eyes as Max tugged his hood down to rustle his curls softly.

‘If anyone dares, they’ll have to deal with me’, Max promised, tugging at a curl as Lando huffed a small laugh.

‘Yeah, cause you’re so big and scary Maxy, as if you don’t melt when Dan smiles at you’, Lando teased, turning slightly to look at his friend.

Max just shrugged, smiling at his younger friend, ‘That’s only for Dan. He is special. Just ask Ocon how scary I can be’.

Lando rolled his eyes, knowing that Max’s words were both true and a joke. While he would never risk his career getting physical with someone, he would defend Lando in anyway he could. That was just the type of person he was.

That just left one problem for Lando to figure out.

‘What do I do Max?’, he asked softly, pulling at the drawstrings of his hoody.

Max took a few moments to respond, letting Lando snuggle back against him. His big hands holding his friend close and fingers tapping a rhythm on Lando’s chest that was soothing.

‘Well, you can do what I did with Dan’, Max laughed, throwing Lando a cheeky look, ‘Write him a letter telling him to get out because he’s too hot and distracting and hope he finds it as funny and cute as Dan did, or just tell him’

‘No, you didn’t’, Lando gaped, turning to face max in shock as the older flushed.

‘I was like 19 and didn’t know how to deal with…well Dan in general and it seemed like a good idea at the time okay’, Max smirked, ‘I was torn between horny and in love with him, so I thought if he were on another team then I would be fine, instead he found it cute and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since’.

‘As if you ever would, you big sap’, Lando scoffed, pinching his friend’s cheek as Max made an affronted noise, reaching for the pillow Lando had tried to smother him with and attacking him as they burst into laughter.

*

‘I just don’t know what to do Este’, Lance whined, slumping back into the chair in the hotel’s bar-lounge, gazing at his glass of wine as Esteban stared at him unimpressed.

‘Whine to me about how cute and hot Norris is apparently, instead of going up to his room and telling him you want to be all gross and hold his hand in public’, Esteban smiled sweetly despite the teasing tone of his voice as he took a sip of his own wine.

Lance pouted, taking a sip of his drink, and fiddling with the stem of the glass.

When Esteban had contacted him about moving their usual pre-race drinks to the bar-lounge of the hotel, Lance had been ecstatic to get out of his head and spend time with his friend off track. However, after half a good bottle of white wine Lance had begun to think about a certain green eyed, curly haired driver.

‘He’s just so pretty, and hot’, Lance sighed, ‘but he gets annoyed every time I try joke with him, which has made me do it more because he looks gorgeous when he is angry at me’

Esteban took a look drag from his wine glass, making a show of tipping the last of it into his mouth before settling it back on the table. He leant forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together as he beckoned Lance to shift forward in his chair slightly as if they were sharing a secret.

‘Okay, you have one option my friend’, Esteban stared, resting his chin on his hands, ‘It is one I used on Pierre. Just annoy him. You said he looks like he might kiss you or strangle you when joke to piss him off, yes?’

Lance nodded, listening to where his friend could possibly be going with this idea. It probably, knowing Pierre and Esteban, was going nowhere that Lance ever wanted to be.

‘When I wanted Pierre’s attention, was I nice to him? No. Did I hide all his stuff on shelves he couldn’t reach and tease him about everything including his bad races? Yes, and look at us now’, Esteban smiled proudly, as if Lance hadn’t seen them yelling at each other hours before this just for breathing wrong in the others direction.

‘You….You cannot tell me that actually worked on Pierre?’, Lance stared in horror as Esteban shrugged, refilling his glass and topping up Lance’s while he was at it.

‘Well, technically no’, Esteban admitted, ‘He hated him even more for four months and then when we crashed into each other in a race we had amazing angry sex that night and we’ve been that way ever since’

Lance, who had just learned way more about his friend’s sex life and preferences than he ever wanted to know, began to drink his wine once more. Watching as Esteban beamed at him before turning his gaze to his phone.

‘See? It works for us’, Esteban laughed, showing Lance his phone screen.

There was a single text from Pierre opened on Esteban’s phone that simply read, ‘I hate your face when you smile…. room 1203, don’t keep me waiting’

‘I…I’m glad it works for you?’, Lance blinked, trying to merge the text with the dreamy look on his friends face, ‘But I just want to hold Lando’s hand and cuddle him after races when he’s all sleepy, not hook up with him a few times whenever he wants to kill me from something on track’.

‘I don’t think I should be the one giving you advice on this then my friend’ Esteban acknowledge, draining his glass and throwing Lance a dirty smirk, ‘Now if you don’t mind, I am going to go to room 1203 and deal with a very annoyed, a very horny French man’

Lance rolled his eyes, waving off his friend as Esteban wiggled his eyebrows at him before all but running out of the lounge.

It always amazed Lance to watch how stubborn both French men could be about keeping this pretend hate going when Esteban had cried when Pierre had won in Monza and Pierre had arranged a surprise dinner for Esteban when he had gotten his first podium. They were awful liars when it came to their feelings, but Esteban was right, it worked for them.

However, that still didn’t solve the problem of what to do about his feelings for Lando. Lance wasn’t sure if he should keep up the teasing until one of them broke, which had the possibility to end catastrophically if he had been reading the signals wrong all this time, or just man up and admit he wanted to take him on dates.

‘Do you mind if I take this seat, I saw Esteban leaving just now’, a voice drew Lance out of his thoughts to see Sebastian standing with a hand on the chair Esteban had vacated, smile on his face and bottle of local beer in his hand loosely.

‘Of course, /man, you know I always have time for the paddock dad’, Lance teased, using the nickname Sebastian had gained from how fatherly he had become to the younger drivers, especially him and Charles.

Sebastian laughed, shaking his head as he took a seat. He watched Lance wih knowing eyes for a second as he took a drag from his bottle, letting the air between them settle before speaking.

‘You know, I was exactly in the position you are in now with Lando a few years back’, Sebastian offered softly, his tone gentle, offering Lance an out if he didn’t want him to continue along the line he was going with.

‘I’m guessing you overheard us. I didn’t even see you when we came in’, Lance smiled shyly, nervous to have his secret out in the open.

‘That’s the way I like it. I don’t do this for the spotlight, I like to blend in my time off’, Sebastian smiled, playing with a ring on his finger after setting his bottle on the table between them, ‘I overheard a little, but mainly I observed it in the paddock. You remind me a lot of myself when I started at Red Bull, crush on teammate and a need to pull his metaphorical pigtails to get his attention and all’.

Lance looked up surprised. Everyone knew about the tense relationship between Sebastian and Mark during their Red Bull years. Many had pegged it as jealousy between teammates. A rising star outshining a talented driver who was falling from grace and couldn’t handle it. He never would have guessed, despite how flirty Sebastian had seemed in his younger years, that he had been trying to get Marks attention.

‘I can see you’ve out two and two together, so you know it didn’t end well for us’, Sebastian gave him a small, sad smile, ‘Teasing can be fun, but sometimes it crosses a line, and you end up like me, heartbroken and not even having a friendship to keep them close. We have only started talking in the last few years’

‘I don’t want to screw it up, but it’s already tense, and I don’t know how to break it, or tell him’, Lance admitted softly, running a hand through his hair, and looking at Sebastian pleadingly.

‘The first time Lance, it was a mess and it hurt’, Sebastian smiled, a glint in his eye as he gazed down at the ring before looking back at Lance, ‘But the second time? The second time I fell for a driver was fantastic. Admittedly it took a while, my flirting went over their head for about three years until I eventually just kissed them one night and it clicked for them, luckily they felt the same’

Lance glanced up at him in surprise as Sebastian just beamed at him, laughing slightly at the shocked expression on the younger drivers face.

‘You just kissed them, and it worked?’, he questioned in disbelief.

His head was spinning with all the information Sebastian had just given him. His mind racing between the fact that Sebastian was reaching new levels of hero in his eyes and trying to figure out who exactly the other driver was. Judging by the ring, they were still together, possibly married. Only two options came to mind, but Lance focused on the question he had asked, wanting to know if it would solve his current problem.

‘It did, worked better than months of flirting. I spent a lot of energy on flirting when I should have just kissed them day one’, Sebastian laughed, drinking the rest of his beer as Lance just stared at him in awe.

‘Man, you are braver than I will ever be’, Lance chuckled, slumping back in his chair as he reached for his wine again.

Sebastian shook his head, eyes drifting from Lance to something in the background and moving to get up, picking up his empty bottle as he did.

‘You are much braver than you think Lance, and Lando would be luckily to have you. Just be honest with him, I promise that will work better than what you’re doing now’, Sebastian ruffled his hair gently before squeezing his shoulder and starting to walk away.

It took a second for Lance’s brain to catch up, to process all the information and possibilities the advice opened for him with Sebastian’s words ringing in his ears.

‘Seb’, Lance called after the older driver, waiting until he had turned back to him slightly, ‘Who’s the luckily guy?’

Sebastian gave him a huge teasing grin, lifting his hand to waggle his ringed finger at Lance before simply stating.

‘You know I hate talking about myself, goodnight Lance’, walking away and leaving Lance to debate whether it had been Kimi or Lewis he had spotted around the bar when he had arrived with Esteban hours before.

*

Despite the advice from Sebastian, Lance still hadn’t made a move during the next three races.

Instead, he focused on slowly toning down his teasing. He made sure he filtered his comments that he knew would incite that burning rage he had seen in Lando’s eyes those few times before. Now he made jokes that the other laughed at, sometimes surprising them both when Lando’s loud laugh broke through, leaving Lance to stare in awe at how cute Lando looked when trying to hide his unexpected outburst behind sweater paws and small glares.

Their relationship had gone from filled with tension to them being able to joke with each other more frequently. Lando had even begun to bump shoulders with him whenever they walked the paddock together or bumped into each other between interviews in the media pen. Each time he offered Lance a small, private smile that made his insides melt.

From the looks Rob and Jon had begun to throw him, Lance was nowhere near subtle in the way that he stared at Lando, or after him when he was wearing tight jeans, or his racing suit tied around his waist showing off how much definition he had built with Jon over the last year.

Lance had settled into this new dynamic, enjoying the fact that he could now throw his arm around Lando’s shoulders every so often as they made their way to the starting grid or away from joint interviews, ignoring reporters who tried to drag up their ‘2020 rivalry’.

Lance had started to take queues from Sebastian in that regards too. Often pretending not to hear the question or going off on a tangent about his race or something else entirely while staring down confused reporters. He was pretty sure he had caught Sebastian watching him, proud gleam in his eyes as reporters realised, they were being played with once again like they had been with Sebastian.

He had started to spend a little more time with the other driver between races, still trying to figure out who had put the ring on Sebastian’s finger while the other smiled and refused to give up the identity of his partner, enjoying the wild theories Lance had presented him with at times.

The question of him and Lando was still hanging over his head. At times he thought he caught the other driver watching him, a soft look on his face that made his heart skip a beat every time, yet at other times it was as awkward as their first hug, funny but stilted as if they couldn’t find the right words.

He had thought about just kissing him as Sebastian had advised, or even asking him out as a Pierre had suggested when he had joined them for a few drinks one evening. The other French man had spent the night pretending Esteban wasn’t all but sitting in his lap, their fingers entwined as the night went on, but his advice sincere and helpful.

Until Lance had revealed Esteban’s advice which had Pierre pushing the other man to the floor and glaring at him. Lance had quickly exited the room before he got entangled in their weird fuckbuddy playfights.

Instead of acting he was here, Lando’s thigh next to his only a few centimetres apart. So, close he could feel the warmth of his body as they sat recording a McLaren Challenge video.

The premise of the video was simple. It was a challenge much like the one Carlos and Lando had done the year before with having to place their hands in a box to identify the object. Only the twist in this video was they took turns being blindfolded, having to hold an object and guess what it was based on the other drivers’ descriptions.

So far Lance had endured Lando giggling sweetly while Lance made horrified faces, eyes covered, but frown on his face as he tried to guess what Lando was saying along with what was in his hands.

In the end, when he had run out of time and taken his blind fold off, he was left staring confused as Lando wheezed with laughter at the weird crazed looking deformed bird that he was promptly told was called a Furby.

Now he watched as Lando tied the blindfold around his own eyes, checking the knot at the back and making a teasing joke about cheating as Lando tried to smack him but missed as Lance ducked away, laughing as the younger pouted.

Lance had to bite his lip as Helen stepped forward, mischievous grin on her face as she held a fake, but slimy, replica of a fish in her hands. Lance could see Charlotte grinning, fingering a remote in her hand that allowed the fake fish to wiggle in Helen’s hold before it stilled and she placed in Lando’s.

Lando went from laughing to jumping slightly at the feel of the object, instantly stilling and his face distorting in disgust.

‘Oh my god Lance what is it?’, Lando’s voice was edging towards high pitched at the end as he squirmed uncomfortably.

Lance hummed, pretending to take his time while grinning at the camera and trying not to laugh as Lando stretched his hands as far out in front of him as possible.

‘I don’t know man, it’s kind of weird and grey’, Lance hummed, watching Charlotte out of the corner of his eye.

Just as he was about to make another comment as Lando frowned, Charlotte flicked the switch and the fake fish started to wriggle in Lando’s hands.

The reaction was immediate, Lando yelped, throwing the fish as far away as possible with a little scream before launching himself backwards onto Lance.

Lance couldn’t hold the laughter that burst out of him as he wrapped his arm around the younger driver who was still cursing and yelling ‘Oh my god what was that oh my god’, trying to pull the blind fold off.

Once he spotted the fish, Lando pressed back more into Lance’s hold before glaring at the other and slapping his arm as Lance tried not to cry with laughter.

‘I think that’s a wrap guys, perfect ending Lando’, Henrik laughed, giving them a thumbs up as Helen and Charlotte stood giggling behind him while Lando still glared at them.

‘That was rude’, Lando glared, removing himself from Lance’s arms, his face blushing as Lance wiped the tears from his eyes.

Lando wandered over to Helen, holding out his slimy hands as she tried to duck away from him as Lando gave chase, for a moment he eyes Charlotte but one warning look had him moving towards Jon who was leaning against the wall in the corner.

Lance shook his head, his old team had been like a good friend, but McLaren was a true family, pranks, and all, he thought to himself as he made his way out of the room they were filming in and back to his driver’s room.

He had settled on his makeshift bed/massage table in the room, tugging his phone from the charger and scrolling through some texts from Esteban, Pierre, and Max when a knock on the door sounded gently before Lando peaked his mess of curls into the room questioning.

Lance smiled warmly at him, dropping his phone to the bed beside him as Lando stood in front of him after closing the door.

His hair was ruffled but the hoody he had clearly pulled on after Lance had left the room, his fingers nervously playing with the drawstrings as Lance had noticed the younger did frequently. He was watching Lance with a soft look on his face, eyes unreadable before he started to smile.

‘Sorry about squishing you back there, I just really hate fish’, Lando laughed, moving a hand to run through his curls.

God, Lance thought to himself, he’s fucking adorable.

Outwardly he offered Lando a smile back, laughing along with the younger before his mouth escaped him once more after weeks of filtering his awkward jokes before they could escape.

‘It’s no problem, I’d be your knight in shining armour any day’.

Lance felt the words leave him, atmosphere instantly changing as Lando stilled in front of him. His eyes widened slightly, the pupil dilating as he watched Lance with a sharpness that he hadn’t seen in weeks.

Lando only went this still and observant whenever Lance shoved his giant feet in his mouth because his brain was unable to cope without the attention of the pretty man before him.

‘I’m sor-‘, Lance tried to apologise, lifting a hand from the to run through his hair but he was stopped when hands cupped his face, drawing his eyes back to Lando who had stepped between his legs.

‘You’re luckily your hot’, Lando sighed, his thumb running across Lance’s cheekbone gently as the other stuttered.

‘I’m…wait what?’, Lance tried to question but his words were cut of by soft lips crashing onto his as one hand slid from his cheek into his hair as Lando used the other to angle Lance’s head where he wanted him as Lance’s brain caught up with the fact that Lando was kissing him.

Surprise melted into delight as warmth filled him, his stomach fluttering with butterflies as he tried not to smile into the kiss. His own hand drifted from the bed to grip at Lando’s hip, pulling him closer, the other wrapping around his back as they kissed slow and sweet.

Lance had thought their first kiss would be passionate. A burning explosion of the frustration and teasing that had built between them for months.

Instead, it was soft and sweet, slow. It was small smiles pressed into each other’s lips. The warmth of the hand on his cheek and the soft fingers in his hair as his own hands moved to rest under the hoody, thumbs stroking over hip bones softly. Just two people enjoying a moment shared.

They parted slowly, Lance still pressing small kisses to the others lips, smiling as Lando giggled resting his forehead against Lance’s briefly before letting his head fall to Lance’s shoulder as the older cradled him close. Lando’s arms wrapped loosely over his shoulders as he pressed one of his to the small of his back, the other going to play with the curls that had teased him for months.

‘So that was unexpected’, Lance smiled, pressing a kiss to Lando’s temple as the smaller man melted against him.

‘No, it isn’t’, Lando mumbled, causing Lance to shiver as he placed a kiss on Lance’s neck, ‘I’ve been waiting for you to do that for weeks now, as I said, you’re lucky your hot’

‘Hey, I was flirting with you since race one’, Lance poked him in the ribs, delighted as Lando squirmed against him.

Of course, he was ticklish.

Lando pulled back, cupping Lance’s cheeks again as he sighed, shaking Lance’s head slightly.

‘Lance, you beautiful awkward muppet, that was not flirting’, Lando laughed as Lance frowned, shutting up any reply Lance could form by kissing him again, arms tight around his neck again.

Lance was not going to complain or argue when he had Lando in his arms at last.

Instead, he let the hours melt away, eventually pulling Lando into his lap as they lost themselves in kisses and whispered confessions between laughter and teasing grins until it was time to return to their hotel for the night.

Even then they didn’t part. Lando’s hand slipping into his in the elevator, standing too close and trading kisses as the floors counted down until they slipped into the hallway and into Lance’s room.

If Lance had thought the kisses had melted his senses, seeing Lando curled up in his bed, curls tousled and blooming hickeys on his collarbone on display from where Lance’s McLaren shirt hung from his slightly smaller shoulders, blew his mind as he made his way to the bed after setting up Netflix.

Lando curled into his side as they settled together, His head on Lance’s shoulder and legs tangled with Lance’s, hands clasped on Lance’s stomach.

Just as he thought Lando had drifted off to sleep, his breath evening out, the other spoke again.

‘What’s up with he wedding ring on Seb’s finger?’

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone,
> 
> I'm back with another strange fic born from conversations with the biggest Lance simp I know (yes bae, I'm talking about you, you know who you are)
> 
> This was fun to write so I hope its fun to read.
> 
> Please leave comments, they feed me, and its the holidays so spread the love!
> 
> Happy safe and healthy and wonderful Holidays<3


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